July 21 suspect admits telling lies to police

One of the alleged July 21 bombers admitted in court today that he and a co-defendant invented a false story to tell police.

Muktar Said Ibrahim, who made all the hydrogen peroxide and chapatti flour devices, confessed during intense cross-examination to telling a number of lies to officers in interview.

The 29-year-old initially told Woolwich Crown Court that he and Ramzi Mohammed did not discuss what they would say if they were arrested. But then he told the jury he "just remembered"

that they had talked about it.

Ibrahim said they agreed a false story - to say he only turned up at Mohammed's north London flat two days before the pair were arrested.

The jury heard earlier that he was at the Delgarno Gardens address eight days before the armed police operation. "If you forget, you can't help it," he told the court.

The alleged Number 26 Bus bomber told officers that he didn't know any of the men involved in 21/7 apart from Yassin Omar who he said he used to visit sometimes, the jury heard.

Nigel Sweeney QC, for the Crown, told the court that, in fact, Ibrahim had known Mohammed, Hussain Osman and Manfo Kwaku Asiedu since 2004.

Ibrahim told the court he was trying to protect the others. "The arrest was serious so I didn't want to incriminate anybody," he said.

"I just thought the best thing is just to speak for myself and it's not the right thing, I admit that."

Mr Sweeney also asked Ibrahim why he did not reveal to officers that 21/7 was a hoax, as he claims.

The barrister said: "You held the key of being able to say: 'look, don't worry, there's no one else out there, I know that because it's my plan, (all the materials have) been got rid of, there's nothing left, there's no one left, it's the end'."

Ibrahim replied: "I said the first part which is 'there's no explosives' but the second part I thought I'd save until my solicitor comes."

The said he did this because he didn't trust the police: "I was confused, frightened and I didn't know what might happen."

However, Ibrahim conceded "Looking back I should have said it was a hoax but there's nothing I can do now."

Mr Sweeney asked him: "It couldn't be, could it, that when you did speak with the police you didn't mention it because you hadn't thought of it at that point?" The defendant denied this was the case.

Ibrahim, of Stoke Newington, north London, is one of six men accused of taking part in an extremist Muslim plot to carry out a series of murderous suicide bombings on the London transport system.

He admits making the devices but claims none of them were capable of detonating or injuring anyone.

His co-defendants are Asiedu 33, of no fixed address; Omar, 26, from New Southgate, north London; Osman 28, of no fixed address; Mohammed, 25, of North Kensington, west London and Adel Yahya, 24, of High Road, Tottenham, north London.

They all deny charges of conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to cause explosions likely to endanger life.